Galeries Towers will not settle for just a participation trophy in its first venture into the Premier Volleyball League in the upcoming Second All-Filipino Conference.
Highrisers head coach Lerma Giron and assistant coach Godfrey Okumu expressed this sentiment a day before the conference fires off.
Despite being formed just a month before the Second All-Filipino Conference, Giron is confident that her team has what it takes to compete against the league's best. She believes that they must take it one game at a time.
“This is just a baby team. Yung baby na ‘to, lumalaban ‘to,” said Giron, a product of University of Santo Tomas and an ex-Adamson University head coach.
“Yun yung lagi naming sinasabi sa training na we’re not there just to participate, we’re there to win, we’re there to fight, and bigyan sila ng magandang laban kahit sabihin nating years na yung binibilang nung ibang teams, yung iba nasa top pa. Pero yun nga, lalaban at lalaban ‘to,” she added.
Okumu, who is set to make his PVL return for the first time since coaching Motolite in 2019, echoed Giron’s statement and praised the heart and passion that the team has shown throughout their preparations for the season-ending conference.
“What we expect as a team or as coaches, we believe in progress and then as we continue working on progress, that’s (what) I’m looking at the team looking forward,” said Okumu, a former University of the Philippines head coach.
“So yes, we will have wins. Yes, we might have losses but it’s part of the game. So it’s not about (just) participating, it’s really going out there and giving their all. We’re a young team but we’re strong and (we have) heart and we’re ready to go. Even though in the PVL we expect challenges, nothing comes to easy so we just have to go and fight,” he added.
Leading the squad are team captain Fhen Emnas, along with the returning Graze Bombita and Dimdim Pacres.
Bombita is coming off an ACL tear that sidelined him for the entire 2022 season.
Carly Hernandez, Ysa Jimenez, Norielle Ipac, Rap Aguilar, Kia Melgar, Acy Masangkay, Roma Doromal, Julia Angeles, Juliet Catindig, Anne Esguerra, and Andrea Marzan complete the squad.
Galeries Towers will open its PVL campaign against the powerhouse Petro Gazz on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
